George Takeiwill always be in awe of formerStar Trekcostar Nichelle Nichols.
At this year’sStar TrekDay event, held at The Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Takei spoke fondly of his longtime friend and castmate, whowas diagnosed with dementiain 2018 and is at the center of a conservatorship battle.
“She was an activist. Back in the fifties when I was doing a civil rights musical calledFly Blackbird, this woman came backstage. She was in the theater, backstage to congratulate the cast. She was stunning,” the 84-year-old told PEOPLE.
“I didn’t know who she was, but she was this beautiful woman with this huge, wild Afro. Back in 1959, you didn’t [see that] … See, African-American women conked their hair, straightened it and shaped it into a contemporary fashionable hairdo,” he continued. “And here’s this woman, stunningly good-looking face and this huge, almost unbelievably big bubble of Afro hair. And then she was introduced to me as Nichelle Nichols.”
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A few years after their introduction, Takei said that he met Nichols, 88, once again at the firstStar Trektable read.
“I’ve known dear Nichelle from beforeStar Trek, during the civil rights movement. And she is an activist on every just cause,” said Takei.
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The actor added: “She played a part in the space program in reality, building the so-called launching pad for the real astronauts to go up there and boldly go where none of us have gone before.”
The originalStar Trekseries ran from 1966 to 1969 for three seasons. Takei portrayed Sulu while Nichols played Uhura.
Nichols' role on the series was historic, making her one of the first Black women to have a leading role on television.
“A lot has happened in the span of 55 years,” said Takei. “And because ofStar Trek, we’ve had the privilege of meeting bothNeil Armstrongand Buzz Aldrin in person and Buzz Aldrin got to be a casual friend to us. So, it’s really a fantastic journey between 1966, when we first went on the air and today, the 55th anniversary.”
In recent years, Nichols has been entangled in a battle over her conservatorship. As of January 2019, the actress’son Kyle Johnsonserves as conservator of her person and estate, though Nichols' friend Angelique Fawcette and former manager Gilbert Bell havespoken out against Johnson’s actions.
At the time, Bell and Fawcettespoke out against Johnsonin separate interviews with PEOPLE. (Johnson declined to comment.)
Last month, aLos Angeles Timesreport revealed that Johnson had sold his mother’s longtime home in Woodland Hills, California (which she purchased in 1982), and Bell and Fawcette once again claimed he was acting against the star’s wishes.
“When the house was sold, I was very hurt for her,“Fawcette, 51, told PEOPLEof Nichols. “She has no place to go back to anymore. It hurt me because I knew that it would hurt her. She stated that she wanted to remain in her home, yet the court let her son move her out.”
Said Bell, 82, in a separate interview, “Her home is gone. It’s been sold out from under her. She would be horrified if she knew that.”
TheTimes, citing property records, reported that Nichols' house and guesthouse were sold for nearly $2.2 million to Baron Construction & Remodeling Co.
Bell, who previously lived on the property, confirmed to the newspaper that he had recently moved out. According toThe Times, in a brief email, Johnson said proceeds from the sale were placed in his mother’s conservatorship account to ensure her continued care.
Dory Jackson
source: people.com
